:
Thank you. I am pleased to be here today to discuss the government's communications activities related to Canada's Economic Action Plan.
[English]
In response to the weakening of the Canadian economy and the impact of the global recession, the government committed in budget 2009 to delivering an economic stimulus package to encourage growth and restore confidence in the economy. The International Monetary Fund recently reported that Canada is on track to being the first country to begin recovering from the global recession, with expected GDP growth of 2.1% in 2010, faster growth than for any other member of the G-7.
The economic action plan represents the largest stimulus package in Canadian history. Part of the strategy to ensure rapid deployment of the plan was the rollout of a comprehensive communications approach in order to inform Canadians not only of what was in the plan, but also about how they could access the programs and benefits contained in it.
[Translation]
In my role as Clerk, I provide professional, non-partisan support to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on all policy and operational issues that affect the government. Communications is, of course, a component of the government's operations.
[English]
Communication is, of course, a component of the government's operations, so at the table with me today is my colleague, the deputy secretary of plans and consultations, Simon Kennedy, who is a deputy minister level official in PCO and has been responsible for managing the overall communications of the action plan.
One of his key responsibilities is to provide the government with advice on communications and to ensure the government's communications activities are carried out in a coordinated way. The specific decision on what, when, and where to communicate, of course, rests with the government.
In the context of our discussion today, I will talk about the work the PCO is doing to coordinate communications across the government for the economic action plan. In particular, I will focus my remarks on two main areas that I believe will be of interest to the committee.
These are, first, the objectives that the government has pursued in strengthening communications with regard to the economic action plan; and second, the activities that have been undertaken to meet these goals and how they conform to existing policies and rules concerning communications by the Government of Canada.
With respect to the economic stimulus package, Parliament made clear the critical importance of two key objectives: the need for a rapid deployment of the measures, and a focus on accountability to Canadians. All of our work on the communications front, whether the website, advertising, signage, or other activities, has been focused squarely on the achievements of these two objectives.
Informing Canadians about the economic action plan, whether they are individual citizens, homeowners, municipal officials, aboriginal people, or business leaders, has been an important means of supporting the uptake of the measures in the plan.
[Translation]
Our objective has always been to give Canadians concrete information about the different programs and services available, and how they can access those programs and services.
[English]
On the second point, accountability, Parliament made clear its desire to ensure that taxpayers see how their money is spent. Thus, communicating with Canadians about the impact of the economic action plan has been an important means of supporting this objective.
I would now like to talk briefly about the various communications activities that have been undertaken.
Let's first look at the website. It was launched in January, shortly after the budget was tabled, and at the time included basic information on the action plan. Since the initial launch, all our efforts have been to ensure that the site provides useful information so that people can not only learn how they can access the measures, but also know how their tax dollars are being used.
Now, the first major component of the website that was developed was a guide to benefits and programs. The guide allows visitors to the website to search for information on each of the more than 130 economic action plan measures, organized by client group—for example, senior, homeowner, municipal leader, aboriginal person, and so on.
It includes information on how the initiatives work, who is eligible for them, where they can apply, and how to find more information. In many cases, the guide will link the citizen directly to the application form of the program in question. This guide is one of the most popular features of the website.
The second major component of the website to be developed was the project map. Using a map of Canada to track projects, the map plots projects by location and uses technology never before deployed by the Government of Canada on such a scale. When this new feature was introduced in June, there were 3,200 projects mapped. It now contains close to 6,500 projects, and while PCO houses the map on the action plan website, the project data are supplied by departments.
This map is helping support accountability to citizens, who can use this feature of the site to find relatively detailed information about how the action plan is working in their communities.
[Translation]
I'd like to talk now about advertising.
[English]
Members will know that the communications policy of the government states, “In the Canadian system of parliamentary democracy and responsible government, the government has a duty to explain its policies and decisions and to inform the public of its priorities for the country”. The policy goes on to say, “The public has a right to such information”.
Earlier this year when the government introduced the economic action plan, it faced an important communications challenge: how to reach the largest number of Canadians to inform them of the measures being taken to stimulate the economy. Recognizing that advertising is the most effective way to do that, the government developed an advertising strategy.
In terms of the advertising that has run to date, it falls into one of two categories: first, advertising that describes specific measures in the economic action plan and how to access them, like the home renovation tax credit; or secondly, advertising that provides general information about the broad suite of measures contained in the plan and drives people to either the website or the 1-800 number where they can get the detailed information needed.
Our statistics indicate that the advertising is working to inform citizens about the plan and about where they can obtain detailed information. Whenever the advertising campaign runs, the volume of calls to the 1-800-O-CANADA number and the number of visits to the website increases noticeably.
Let me use the home renovation tax credit as an example. In research done this summer, 70% of Canadians said they were aware of the HRTC. Now, this is a pretty healthy number to begin with. However, a month later, in July, after the introduction of the advertisements, the number had increased to 81%, or 3 million more Canadians. Since February 2009, the 1-800-O-CANADA call centre has received more than 70,000 calls related to the economic action plan.
Now, on signage, it's been a long-standing practice for the Government of Canada to install signs on infrastructure projects so that people are able to differentiate projects funded for the federal government from other projects. Under the economic action plan, the government is following this long-standing practice.
In addition, the government is ensuring that all signage clearly labels the projects as part of the action plan. The signs also refer Canadians to the website, where they can get more information. These common features of the signage help support the objectives, as I've said, of accountability and uptake of the plan.
Clear identification with the economic action plan is needed if Canadians are to know that the individual projects are part of the plan, and clear information about where to get more detail about the plan is important to support uptake.
Finally, I would like to say that in executing the communications activities related to the economic action plan, PCO has given advice to the government to ensure conformity with the existing framework of rules. These rules are mainly included in the government's communications policy and related standards. I can confirm that the advertising, website, and signage described earlier comply with the requirements and processes set out by the Treasury Board.
Some new and innovative features of the website, like Google Maps or other advanced technologies, are features that were not envisioned when the policy was written. In those cases we have worked with Treasury Board Secretariat and others to ensure that we implement these new features in a way that respects the guidelines and the processes. Where policy has not kept pace with the technology, we continue to work with Treasury Board to address these issues.
I will now turn to my colleague, the Secretary of the Treasury Board, to speak in greater detail about the rules and policies governing communications.
Michelle.
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Wayne.
Madam Chair, with me, as you indicated, is Mr. Phil Hurcomb. He is the assistant secretary, strategic communications and ministerial affairs, and the lead person within the secretariat with the oversight responsibilities for the communications policy and the federal identity program policy.
The role of the Treasury Board Secretariat is to provide advice and guidance to departments about communicating with Canadians. We do so primarily through the Government of Canada's communications policy and the federal identity program policy, otherwise known as the FIP.
The communications policy is a management tool that provides direction to ensure that Canadians receive timely, accurate, objective, and complete information about the government's policies, programs, services, and initiatives. As the clerk indicated, the policy is clear that in “the Canadian system of parliamentary democracy and responsible government, the government has a duty to explain its policies and decisions, and to inform the public of its priorities for the country”.
It is also clear that “Ministers, both individually and collectively as members of Cabinet...provide leadership in establishing the priorities and overall themes of government communications”. The communications policy also clearly states--and this is a requirement directly made about advertising--that “institutions must ensure products are aligned with government priorities...and government themes and messages”.
The policy also helps to ensure that government departments and agencies are visible, accessible, and accountable to the public they serve, and that their communications activities safeguard Canadians' trust and confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the public service of Canada.
The policy sets out 10 interconnected and interdependent policy commitments based on Canadian and public service values, statutes, and regulations. It has 31 policy requirements. It also sets out accountabilities, or if you will, roles and responsibilities, for each key partner in the policy development. Its procedures provide specific direction for advertising, publishing, and public opinion research.
[Translation]
Complementing the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada is the Federal Identity Program policy, sometimes known as FIP.
We often use these policies in tandem so as to frame the voice and the face of government. The communications policy promotes coherent, consistent communications: one government, speaking with one voice; the FIP supports the government's corporate identity—it helps to shape the face of government.
The Federal Identity Program is about clear and consistent identification. It projects the government as a coherent, unified administration and enables Canadians to recognize at a glance where their government is at work for them.
The FIP governs the use of the three identifiers of the government: the Arms of Canada, the signature, that is to say the flag with the title of the institution or the Government of Canada, and the “Canada” wordmark.
You'll see the results of FIP on every Government of Canada building, on every piece of official correspondence—even on the Canadarm on the International Space Station.
[English]
Having given the context and an overview of the policies and their functions, I will turn now to some of the specific issues of potential interest to the committee: advertising, events, and compliance.
With regard to advertising, the communications policy clearly states that departments and agencies may place advertisements to inform Canadians about their rights or responsibilities, about government policies, programs, services, or initiatives, or about dangers or risks to public health, safety, or the environment. It also states that departments and agencies must ensure that advertising campaigns are aligned with government priorities, themes, and messages.
Some recent examples include recruitment campaigns for the Canadian Forces and the RCMP, or advice to Canadians on helping them to prepare for emergency situations, or how to take advantage of the more than 100 initiatives contained in the economic action plan.
The rules are quite clear. Departments and agencies must ensure that the design and presentation of advertisements conform to the communications policy and its procedures as well as requirements of the FIP. All advertising and public opinion research projects are reviewed by the Privy Council Office and contracts must be issued through Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Furthermore, departments and agencies must not use public funds to purchase advertising in support of a political party. The economic action plan advertising is in compliance with these policies.
[Translation]
With regard to events, ministers, or their designated officials, are the primary spokespersons for the Government of Canada. Ministers may also designate members of Parliament or other parliamentarians to represent the government on their behalf.
Ministers are responsible for explaining government priorities, policies and decisions to the public and, in so doing, must conform to Treasury Board policies in the running of their departments.
Members of Parliament acting independently of ministerial activities are not subject to these policies, including the Federal Identity Program.
[English]
As for the use of so-called prop cheques, or what we prefer to call ceremonial cheques, departments and agencies are permitted to use Government of Canada ceremonial cheques for official events of the Government of Canada, those organized by ministers as official spokespersons or by their designated representatives.
As is the case for all government communications products, ceremonial cheques used in official events must include the official symbols of the Government of Canada, as required by the federal identity program policy. Events organized by members of Parliament who are not acting as designated ministerial spokespersons are not covered by the policy.
I'll turn now to monitoring and compliance. As clearly stated in the communications and FIP policies, deputy heads are responsible for ensuring that their organizations comply with these policies. The policy commitments, requirements, and procedures are clear, as are the FIP rules.
The Treasury Board Secretariat uses a number of tools to help monitor overall compliance to these policies. For instance, the secretariat reviews Treasury Board submissions prepared by departments to ensure that key communications and corporate identity requirements are addressed. We also work closely with and advise departments when initiatives are launched and communications materials are in development. It is an iterative process. This approach was applied to the EAP communications.
When they are raised or when we identify them, TBS reviews issues of non-compliance by departments with these policies. When issues of non-compliance are confirmed, the secretariat works with the parties responsible to resolve the issues.
Having given an overview of the government communications and FIP policies, I would like to conclude by confirming that the economic action plan, or EAP, advertising, website, and signage comply with the commitments, requirements, and procedures set out in both the communications and federal identity program policies.
I and my colleague would be pleased to address any questions the committee members may have. Merci.
:
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much, everyone, for being here with us this afternoon.
Mr. Wouters, I offer you belated congratulations on your new role, which is not so new anymore.
Quite frankly, I am now at a bit of a loss as to where to start. I say this with the utmost respect for all of you and for all of the people you work with in your departments. Some of these comments, I stress, are not to be taken personally.
I am astounded at the position that everything that has been done complies with all of the rules. I would first point out that almost a month ago I wrote a detailed letter to the Treasury Board outlining very serious allegations about breaches of the communications policy in the federal identity program. Not once have I received a response or even an acknowledgement of my letter.
I find it astounding that what I have now heard and read in your submissions sounds extraordinarily like a response to my letter, and I find it rather extraordinary that we've waited a month for a response to that letter and you've now done it in this committee process.
We have two hours. We have significant questions about accountability and the amount of money that has been spent, but at this point in time, I want to focus on the content of the advertising and our real concern that the Government of Canada's use of colours, images, and slogans, and the “look and feel” aspects and other branding elements, are the same as or mirror those of the Conservative Party.
Our allegations and concerns about the content of the advertising are very serious.
We saw this in Ontario under Mike Harris's government. The subsequent Liberal government brought in significantly different rules, and I think very appropriately so. I would point out, too, the comments about the Privy Council's involvement in this. There is significant responsibility, and I quote: “To ensure the integrity and efficacy of government advertising, institutions must: co-ordinate advertising planning with PCO...”. There is specific responsibility to do so in a “non-partisan fashion consistent with the principles of parliamentary democracy...”.
The PCO itself has responsibility. I quote from the communications policy itself: “The Privy Council Office...has a central role in the co-ordination and management of government communications”. On PCO, the policy states, “It is responsible for advising Cabinet and its committees...on communication issues, themes and strategies”. I can go on, but I needn't tell you what your jobs are.
But in the sense that we have a massive advertising program that has the same or an extremely similar look and feel to that of the Conservative Party of Canada, and that as far as we know upwards of $100 million may have been spent on this advertising, while we don't take exception to advertising that may inform Canadians of programs, I would suggest to you that the majority of this advertising program does not in fact do so. Rather, it goes out to tell the Canadian public how wonderful the government is. In so doing, in that effort to confuse the government with the Conservative party, it is in effect conferring a massive benefit on the Conservative Party of Canada.
Ms. d'Auray, you said that part of the job was to tell Canadians that the government is out working for them. With all respect, knowing that it's their taxpayer money that is being spent on this, I think Canadians actually would rather have the government simply do the work than spend their taxpayer money on telling them that somehow the government is working for them. I would suggest that it should be an assumption that the government is actually working for us.
I will now turn to what is probably most problematic about this entire advertising campaign and the breaches of the communications policy in a way that confers a significant benefit on the Conservative Party. The logos on the cheques, in my view, are a symptom of the larger disease of trying to confuse the two in the Canadian public's eyes.
There was a piece done by the Canadian Press not too long ago that was the result of what was said by a number of members of the Privy Council Office, both former and current, who, not surprisingly, would not reveal their identities for fear of reprisals, and who had informed the Prime Minister of significant misgivings at the time of the budget and the planning. They said that “the Tories are trampling the admittedly grey area between partisanship and policy”. Also, they said that “they've never seen anything so blatant as the current use of the office for self-promotion”.
Can you please speak to the very specific question? Because if I ask you questions about whether you believe this complies with the policy, you've already said that, and I'll significantly disagree with you. So I'm now going to ask my question slightly differently.
Can you speak specifically to this question? Has there been anyone in the Privy Council Office from January until now who has expressed concern about the partisan nature of the government advertising?
:
Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate it.
Many good questions have been asked and we appreciate your answers this afternoon.
Congratulations, Mr. Wouters, on your appointment. You've been to the committee many times before. As usual, you don't disappoint, but this is the first time in your new capacity, so we appreciate your willingness to come here this afternoon.
There's been a number of things talked about around the table today. I just thought it was interesting, and perhaps it's a point of interest to members of Parliament who sit at the table here, that some concern was brought up by my colleague Martha Hall Findlay as it relates to the cost of the GO Train advertising that was undertaken to advertise the action plan.
I think it's of interest to members of the committee that in fact this is probably good value for money. I wasn't aware of what it cost to advertise in the Toronto Star, but apparently for a two-day ad it costs some $57,000 for half a page. I think that most of us in our capacities as members of Parliament have advertised either in election campaigns or at different times and do understand that advertising in newspapers is quite expensive and is not always the most effective way.
I would commend the folks who spent $46,000 to advertise with the GO Trains by wrapping those GO Trains, because not only has that run for 10 weeks, but in addition to that, they effectively received several full-page ads in earned media.
I'm just curious to hear if there is any Treasury Board policy related to innovative advertising where it involves the possibility of or a strategy that may result in earned media in addition to the expenditure that the government may have had taking place. Is there any concern or anything that would discourage the government from purchasing media that may lead to earned media as a result of that advertising?
:
You're going to love it. I know you will.
Thank you.
I heard some, I think, interesting statements from my Liberal colleague across the way, Ms. Martha Hall Findlay. She talked about, for example, posing with cheques and whether or not that type of thing can confer any benefit for an entity other than the government, in this case the federal government. I think it's an interesting question.
When I look at this photo...and I know that it's slightly pixilated, and I know that you're doing it from a distance, but I hope that people can help me with regard to this. Committee members may be able to help later on in terms of determining what's going on here.
In the photo there's a young lady. I can't make out who she is because I don't think I've seen her around the committee or the environs of Parliament Hill very much. There's a fellow in the background with a beard, playing a bagpipe, and I don't know who he is. But a couple of these other characters here, I think I've seen, and I think maybe committee members might have seen as well. And, for all I know, our witnesses may be able to help me.
The fellow who seems to be holding a cheque here, I think I've seen him quite a bit, as a matter of fact. I think he's probably a member of Parliament. If I look very closely I think he's actually the former chair of this committee, a Mr. Derek Lee, with the Liberal Party of Canada.
If I look next to him, I see another gentleman who looks familiar too. I don't think I've seen him on the committee, but it appears to be John Cannis, who's also a Liberal member of Parliament.
Then just here, on the very edge of the photograph, if I look closely, I would bet money that this is John McKay, who's also a Liberal member of Parliament.
I notice we have one, two, three Liberal members of Parliament in this particular photograph and they're all clapping and looking rather happy about handing out of this particular cheque. Now some might say that because they're all Liberals and they're handing out a cheque, that would confer a benefit on the Liberal Party of Canada.
I wonder, when Ms. Hall Findlay says something like that, whether or not she would agree that three Liberal members of Parliament holding a cheque is conferring a benefit on the Liberal Party of Canada as a cheque-giver.
I wonder if our witnesses have any thoughts on that.